The present invention relates to a flexible cable positioning structure superior in positioning a movable portion.
Magnetic disk drives adopt a cable (hereinafter referred to as “FPC cable”) which utilizes a flat type flexible printed circuit (FPC) board for electrically connecting a magnetic head and a voice coil with a circuit board. The magnetic head and the voice coil are mounted on a pivotable carriage. A base end portion of the FPC cable is fixed to a base for connection to the circuit board, while a front end portion of the FPC cable is fixed to the carriage for connection to the voice coil and the magnetic head. In the magnetic disk drive, a movable portion of the FPC cable is adapted to deform itself freely and follows a pivotal motion of the carriage while being maintained in a vertical attitude with respect to the bottom surface. With the recent tendency toward reduction in size of the magnetic disk drive, the interior space becomes smaller, and there is a higher possibility that the movable portion comes into contact with a base or a base cover so as to obstruct the operation of the carriage. Moreover, with the reduction in size of the FPC cable, it has become more and more difficult to ensure the space necessary for mounting an electronic module or forming terminals on the base end portion or the front end portion of the cable.
An FPC structure of a magnetic disk drive is disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 3 of Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-106761). The FPC cable formed in a thin type flat shape has flexibility. The FPC cable extends from its base end portion which is a non-movable portion to its front end portion which is a non-movable portion through a movable portion. A reinforcing plate is affixed to the back side of the base end portion. The FPC cable is bent downward at a right angle at an edge of the base end portion and is connected to the movable portion. The movable portion is fixed to a carriage through a mounting hole formed in the front end portion so as to retain its attitude perpendicular to a base. According to such a structure, with a pivotal motion of the carriage, the movable portion can be deformed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the carriage. An AE module and a carriage connector are mounted on the upper surface side of the base end portion in the figure of Patent Literature 1. The base end portion is capable of being bent centrally.